Moodle in the Language Classroom

What is Moodle? Moodle is an on-line course manager.

Why would I want to use it?  To store class documents and other files for students to access at school and home. Things I currently upload for students include: o Pronunciation activities o Class vocabulary and grammar packets (including the answer key) o Short videos

 To organize Internet links for resources and games by unit

 To assess students. Moodle will score your students on multiple choice, matching, true/false, short answer fill in the blanks, and more.

 To promote oral written communication through: o Writing in the journal mode . Students can write informally in the journal and you can offer feedback and a score. o Writing assignments . You can collect written work by having students submit a document for you to review. What is even more useful is the online text assignment as it allows you to correct errors on-line with basic Word tools like strikethrough, bold, underline, and color. You can edit student work, leave feedback, and assign a grade in this mode. o Forums . Ask a question in the forum and have students respond to it. Students can further respond to one another’s responses. o Instant messaging . Students can instant message each other to practice essential questions for each unit and about topics of interest to their daily lives . I message students to do comprehension checks of questions, quick writing assessments, and to promote communication between my students and myself. This can also be a great tool for students to let you know if they have questions about what is going on in class. o Chat . Students can chat with one another through text in the chat room. o Choice questions . Choice questions function as a survey. You can post a question and offer students multiple answers. Use the data you collect for a future activity or just use it to get students answering questions in the target language. You can make the answers and who answered the question public or keep it private. o Wikis . Have students contribute to a class Wiki. Use the Wiki as a place for students to practice their writing. This way students can benefit from seeing the work of others, offer one another feedback, and validate their work as it is published to their classmates. o Glossary Access . The glossary has various modes, two of which function as an encyclopedia and a dictionary. I have used the glossary to store additional vocabulary for writing dialogues and as a place to house writing prompts for oral situations.  To store student work. Students can upload both text and audio files to Moodle. This could be a great way to save student work throughout the year and have a portfolio of their progress.

 Once you have done it, it can be used every year. At the end of each school year, your Moodle course can be saved, both with and without the student data from that year. This way you can start fresh in the fall with all of your course materials in tact.

 It’s FUN! Moodle is beneficial to both students and teachers.

Other Features  The Calendar o Write instructions for students here when they are doing on-line activities. This is also very useful if students are absent as they can see what they missed. Post upcoming tests and assignment due dates as well.  HTML Blocks o Google Gadgets like clocks and other things can be added to personalize your page via the HTML blocks. You can also type in instructions or other notices that you want to appear on your main page here.  Other Blocks o Blocks can be added to the page to show a Participant’s list, on-line users, upcoming events you have posted to the calendar, section links, and more.  Tracking student access o Moodle records when students log on and where they go while they are on Moodle.

Resources to Get Started http://moodle.org/ will offer you a great starting place for resources if you would like further information

Link to an extensive on-line Moodle manual http://moodle.sbc.edu/file.php/1/Moodle18.pdf

Other Things for Language Teachers Open websites in your target language through this website. Once open and set up for your language, if you hover over a word it will define it for you and add it to a list of words to practice. www.lingro.com